Alan Lam reports

Australis, the Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego expedition cruise specialist, has confirmed that it is to build new vessel to replace its 130 passenger capacity Via Australis, which has recently been sold to Lindblad Expeditions and will leave its fleet at the end of the current season.

The sale of its smaller unit will leave the small cruise line with just one ship, the 2010-built Stella Australis, which has the capacity for 210 passengers. It was always the intention of the company to replace the vessel. Now it has confirmed that this will take place by the end of 2017.

The new ship will have more cabins, according to Australis, and comparable to Stella Australis in capacity.

Australis is the latest niche operator to order smaller tonnage. What has become clear is that the future capacity issue in the expedition cruise segment is beginning to be addressed. Only recently we learnt that both Lindblad and Scenic had ordered small newbuildings.

This development reflects the continuous growth in the expedition cruise market and the confidence in the demand to go on rising in the coming years. It also presents an opportunity, albeit still a small one, for smaller cruise ship builders.

Nichols Brothers Boat Builders will construct the Lindblad units. Uljanik of Croatia will build Scenic’s 228 passenger ship. Stella Australis was built by the ASENAV shipyard in Chile.